ISLAMABAD, April 7: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi hinted on Monday that the new government would not put on hold progress in various areas of cooperation with India because of the impasse on Kashmir.
“There are areas where we feel we need to move on to the mutual benefit of both the countries -- like trade,” he said while making his first policy statement in an interview with DawnNews TV channel.
But, he quickly added that the new approach should not be construed as putting the Kashmir issue on the back-burner.
“We are not forgetting it (Kashmir). It is important,” he emphasised.
But at the same time, he said, Pakistan wanted regional stability, peace and greater understanding (with India) so that we can work together to the benefit of the region and its people.
“We have been approaching the Kashmir problem from a particular angle and should now try a different approach,” said the foreign minister.
Foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India would be shortly meeting to conclude the fourth round of the composite dialogue and initiate the fifth round.
Mr Qureshi said Kashmir was on the agenda of the composite dialogue. “It is one of the top issues after peace and security and stability.”
He outlined regional peace and stability, increased economic activity and cordial relations with India as the major goals to be pursued in relations with India.
About the policy of the new government on the war on terror, the foreign minister said it would be multiple-pronged – politically engaging tribal elders, isolating terrorists and denying them sanctuaries.
In an apparent drift from the policy statement given by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani in his inaugural speech when he spoke of talking to local Taliban militants, who renounced militancy, Mr Qureshi said terrorism was a subject that was non-negotiable and the government would not be talking to terrorists.
He stressed the need for engaging the local population and winning their hearts and minds by promoting economic activities in their areas and addressing their local issues.
The foreign minister said that the PPP-led coalition government was better placed than its predecessor to deal with the issue of terrorism.
“This government is democratically elected and it can give ownership to the war,” he said.
The previous government, he believed, failed to carry the counter-terrorism agenda forward because it did not succeed in convincing the people that this was not an alien war and that it was a war affecting the common man, the country’s economy and its cities.
Mr Qureshi ruled out any drastic changes in foreign policy.
“We would not be reflecting what was done in the past, nor would we be rejecting what was done in national interest,” the foreign minister said, claiming that the PPP-led coalition government would pursue a `balanced foreign policy’, whose pillars would be regional peace, economic security of the country, protecting Pakistan’s capability to deter aggression, fostering good relations with all countries, particularly its neighbours, and safeguarding the interests of expatriates.
